Water Palace of Tirta Gangga in East Bali, Karangasem
Over 75 million US citizens travel abroad each year. Only about 7
percent of them visit Asia, but that is still roughly 5 million people.
But only a tiny percent of that number comes to Indonesia. Most of those
who do come focus almost entirely on Bali, which has, of course, been
the face of Indonesia for the international jet set for decades.
Most people I know back in Canada, where I’m from, and the US where I
lived for 20 years, thought that “Bali” was a country – a
picture-perfect tropical isle floating somewhere in the Pacific. The
fact that Bali is part of a nation called Indonesia, which has the
fourth-largest population on the planet (right behind the US, in fact)
would come as quite a shock to most North Americans.
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There are some logical reasons for this lack of American interest in
Indonesia as a vacation destination. There are easy links between the
US and many other Asian countries. Americans fought wars in Vietnam and
Cambodia and welcomed large groups of refugees after those wars –
families who now go back to their homelands regularly. Our large
military presence in the Philippines and Thailand established many
natural links there and a significant amount of inter-marriage. Chinese
immigrants helped to build the North American railroads and have always
had a prominent place in our cultural heritage. And not only is there a
large and very successful diaspora of Japanese immigrants in America,
there is also a sophisticated taste for all things Japanese including
architectural and garden design, Zen Buddhism, sushi (and Japanese food
in general), martial arts, cult movies and literature.
Indonesia on the other hand has remained unknown. There are very,
very few Indonesian immigrants in America. Apart from the movies The Year of Living Dangerously and the Bali-focused Eat, Pray, Love, (plus, of course, the tsunami of 2004), Indonesia simply doesn’t come up on the American radar.
There are also some serious negatives that have filtered through the global press, including what The Jakarta Post contributor
Duncan Graham calls one of the country’s “self-inflicted wounds”: “a
cruel and illogical approach to the drug problem by maintaining the
death penalty”.
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Graham is right. It’s not that American tourists would be stashing
drugs in their backpacks or Gucci bags. It’s that countries with a law
this primitive and archaic seem to demand some kind of
conscientious-objector status, even one as simple as picking a different
place to holiday.
But this issue is probably not a deal breaker. Instead, when
Americans do start exploring Indonesia online, or when the word spreads
about a friend’s trip here, it is a series of pretty basic lifestyle
issues that inevitably comes up to muddy the waters.
There is no doubt that getting around the country outside of the Bali
infrastructure is challenging. The government’s proposed new digital
tool, Travel X-Change Indonesia (TXI), should be a good start toward
addressing this problem. There is also the well-publicized issue of
local amenities.
The backpackers may be willing to accept hostel accommodation with no
air conditioning and Indonesian-style bathroom facilities, but most
older American travelers will not. So providing at least some
“full-service” accommodation and, just as importantly, making them
accessible online, is clearly one key to attracting this market.
Another issue that bothers many actual or potential visitors from
North America even more than these inconveniences is: the garbage.
America recognized its litter problem back in the 1950s and anyone
caught throwing anything on the ground in that country can face a stiff
fine and be required to do community service.
It should come as no surprise then that American travelers are
appalled and often disgusted by the garbage strewn around many
Indonesian cities and towns. People here genuinely don’t seem to
consider it a problem to toss refuse on the ground or in the rivers, or
to wade through piles of garbage at the side of roads.
Much of the admiration and interest the Western traveler feels for
the customs, the idiosyncrasies, the good humor and the warmth of the
people dissipates at the sight and smell of the garbage. It is
everywhere, and very few tourists pass through without noting it and
spreading the word through online reviews and social media.
To put this in a global perspective, Singapore is king in terms of
cleanliness, while India and Indonesia are pretty close to the bottom of
the list.
